NY Giants takeaways as defense collapses late in 17-14 loss to Falcons

Red[zone] still means stop for NY Giants

The NY Giants were one of the least productive red-zone offenses in the NFL last season, and that trend reared its ugly head again on Sunday against the Falcons.

In the first half, the NY Giants made two trips inside the 20-yard line, and were only able to come away with a pair of field goals.

On their first possession of the game, the NY Giants faced a first-and-goal from the eight-yard line, before Grady Jarrett burst through the middle of the line unblocked and sacked Jones for an 11-yard loss. The NY Giants were forced to settle for a 25-yard Graham Gano field goal with 5:16 remaining in the first quarter.

Later, center Billy Price’s errant snap forced Jones to dive on the ball in the backfield, and on the same possession an Evan Engram holding penalty stalled out yet another promising NY Giants drive inside the 20-yard line.

Finally, Saquon Barkley broke the drought, when he took a handoff one yard over the top for his first touchdown of the season, which lifted the NY Giants to a 14-7 lead.

The NY Giants’ entered Sunday’s game ranked No. 29th in red-zone efficiency, scoring touchdowns on just a third of their trips inside the 20-yard line.

That trend held true in Sunday’s loss.